SAN ANTONIO – A draft contract was presented Monday by San Antonio Water System officials to the community for the purchase of San Antonio's largest non-Edwards Aquifer water supply.
SAWS officials said since a 1990's environmental lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club, San Antonio has desired a long-term non-Edwards water supply to prepare for the city's future, and to protect endangered species that rely on spring flow from the Edwards Aquifer.
"This is an historic agreement for San Antonio's future," said Berto Guerra, SAWS chairman and head of the SAWS negotiating team. "This new water supply will protect the Edwards Aquifer, prepare us for a drought of record, and help ensure the city's economic prosperity for our children and grandchildren."
Under the contract, SAWS officials said they agree to purchase up to 50,000 acre-feet of water annually for 30 years, beginning as early as 2019.
The water will be piped from the Carrizo and Simsboro aquifers in Burlson County, sources that contain more than 12 times the amount of water in all Texas lakes combined.
"We need this water because our community is growing by 20,000 new people every year, and water from the Edwards Aquifer is limited by law," said Robert R. Puente, the SAWS president and CEO. "We have a chance to purchase tomorrow's needed water at today's prices. The cost of water will continue to climb as other cities compete for scarce water resources, so now is the time to avoid more costly water in the future. We can't afford to miss this opportunity."
The contract contains numerous protections for SAWS ratepayers, maximizing cost savings and minimizing the risks of the project. Benefits to SAWS ratepayers are:
• San Antonio will only pay for water made available. Risk to the delivery of water falls on the private developer, not on the SAWS ratepayer.
• The financing interest rate will be capped at no more than 0.50 percent from the proposed rate during negotiations, reducing financial exposure to SAWS ratepayers.
• Most of the project cost will be fixed for 30 years, saving approximately $750 million from the originally proposed project that had not been recommended.
• All infrastructure will be owned by SAWS after 30 years, with the ability to continue accessing the water for an additional 30 years. The water is currently leased by the Vista Ridge Consortium through more than 3,400 leases with local landowners in Burleson County.
"While rate increases will be required for this project in the future, we recognize that these increases will impact some people more than others," Guerra said. "Therefore, we commit to implement a basic ‘lifeline' water rate, limiting the impact of this project on low water-use customers."
SAWS officials said while it is estimated the average residential bill will be about $88 in 2020, no more than $12 will be needed to pay for the water provided by through the Vista Ridge Pipeline project.
SAWS officials are expected to vote on the contract Sept. 29, giving the Vista Ridge Consortium 10 days to sign the contract before it's presented to the City Council in late October for consideration.
A free public forum on the contract will be held by the UTSA College of Public Policy at its downtown campus Sept. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
Click here to view the contract between SAWS and the Vista Ridge Consortium.